Rosemary's Baby

R.I.P. Challenge II Book #4

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

5/5

Guy Woodhouse, an often out-of-work actor, and his wife Rosemary rent an apartment in an old Victorian building with a reputation of suspicious activities and deaths.  They are immediately befriended by their neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Castevet, an elderly couple who quickly insert themselves into almost every aspect of the Woodhouse's lives.  Rosemary is suspicious, as she thinks she hears strange music and chanting through their adjoining wall.  But Guy sees no harm in their attention and is in awe of the theater connections of Mr. Castevet.  Guy begins to get more acting jobs by default as debilitating things begin to happen to rival actors.

One evening, after eating food brought over by the Castevets, Rosemary experiences extreme dizziness and illness.  Strange occurances begin, as if she is in a dream.   The dream state quickly turns into a nightmare involving the Castavets, other tenants in the building, and her husband.  Following this episode (Rosemary thinks it is real but can't be sure), she discovers she is pregnant.   The remainder of the book focuses on Rosemary's concern for her unborn baby and her increasing mistrust of the Castevets, the tenants, her doctors, and her husband.

The terror evoked in Rosemary's Baby is not so much in the form of graphic events (with the notable exception of two), but rather in the descriptions  and the sense of tension building within Rosemary that steadily increases with each page.  This is an excellent story and one that holds up remarkably well today, despite being 40 years old.

The movie adaptation arrived in today's mail via Netflix, so it will be fun to watch it and compare it with the book.  That will be this weekend's project!

Comments

[jenclair]

I enjoyed both the movie and the book years ago, and I wonder if the movie holds up as well as the book did.

[heather (errantdreams)]

I've never read the book, but loved the movie. I've always thought of it as the epitome of the psychological thriller.

[Chris]

The movie was pretty creepy. I didn't know it had been a book.

[Elaine]

Both the book and the movie are very creepy indeed, that feeling of menace and fear slowly building, and the ending - great!

[Ex Libris]

jenclair: I'll find out about the movie this weekend and will let everyone know!

heather: Yes, it is far more a psychological thriller than graphic horror. Just goes to show all the gore isn't necessary to make a story frightening.

Chris: I knew it had been a book, but didn't realize the author was the same one who wrote The Stepford Wives.

Elaine: It is fantastic, isn't it!

[Nancy, aka Bookfool]

I've never seen the movie because I learned very early on that I can't handle scary movies, but the book sounds great, thanks! Can't wait to see your comments on the movie.

[Danielle]

I've seen the movie multiple times and it still creeps me out. I thought the movie was well done, but I have never read the book.

[alan]

One of my favorite movies, I'll have to read the book. It was filmed at The Dakota where John Lennon was shot and Yoko still lives. Whenever I'm in NY I always make it a point to go to the Dakota and just wander around outside wishing I could live there.

[SuziQoregon]

I've never seen the movie, but I may have to read the book. The only one of Levin's books I ever read was Boys from Brazil.

[Ex Libris]

Alan: That's interesting, as The Dakota is mentioned in the book.

SuziQoregon: I didn't realize Levin wrote Boys from Brazil. Did you like it?

[Seachanges]

I never realised there was a book to go with the film! The film is absolutely fantastic/creepy - enjoy the weekend...

[Carrie K]

I read the book when I was nine (much to my mother's horror - there wasn't anything else to read at my grandpa's house) and reread it years later to see if I completely missed the point - well, in some ways I had, but the book was surprisingly just the way I remembered it.